Kyle Havens still the man for the Minutemen

View full sizePhoto by J. Anthony RobertsKyle Havens launches a pass during the Minutemen's September 26 game against Stony Brook.Kyle Havens saw significant time on the bench for the first time this season in UMass' 34-12 loss to Richmond on Saturday, giving way to backup quarterback Scott Woodward.

But Coach Kevin Morris and the rest of the Massachusetts Football team are standing behind Havens, who is still the starting quarterback for No. 19 UMass. Before practice on Tuesday, Morris reiterated that Havens is his starting quarterback going forward, despite Havens throwing four interceptions in the loss to the No. 1 Spiders.

Havens briefly spoke before practice as well.

"They're still behind me and confident I can do the job," Havens said. "A lot of guys called me and texted me and let me know they still got my back."

Morris decision really is no surprise because of some of the numbers Havens has put up this year. The loss to Richmond was Havens' first real major hiccup as a Minutemen but has been steady throughout the rest of the season.

Havens currently ranks second in the CAA in passing, throwing for 219.1 yards per game in seven games. However, in terms of passing efficiency Havens ranks near the bottom of the CAA in 10th with an efficiency rating of 115.3. The los rating is in part to his low number of touchdowns (8) -- which can be attributed to UMass strong running game that has rushed for 10 touchdowns -- compared to his high number of interceptions (13).

Havens has also played much better at home than on the road, where they played last week. UMass has another road contest this weekend as they travel to Orono, Maine.